Only four
by greenhatred77
Summary: short one-shot about the end of a hero. warning character death


Only Four

A family stood over a hospital bed. Each member watched the slow rise and fall of the man's chest as he slept through probably the last night he'll ever be on the Earth. The room was silent. The only noise was the quiet sobs coming from a young woman who was standing next to the bed. The others understood her pain. Their little brother was slowly leaving this world right before their very eyes. But they also understood it was different for her. She loved the young man from the first moment she met him. He was so different from everyone else she knew. He was annoying, goofy and extremely optimistic; but he had a kind heart. He cared about his family; they were all he had left in the world after his parents had died when he was young. He always kept his family happy and stress free with his pranks and jokes. He was the comic relief in the group. But he always focused all his energy on one certain person, her. He tried so hard to make her smile and at certain times, he almost succeeded.

But unfortunately due to her heritage, she was not allowed to show any emotions or there would be consequences. Walls would be blown away, glass would be shattered and people would be hurt. So she kept her emotions hidden. But that all changed once she defeated her father. After she realized she was free of her father's control the young woman began to allow herself to show her emotions. Her life was finally at peace. She didn't have to worry about hurting people with her powers and she had finally gotten close to the person she had loved for three years. For the next couple of years the two heroes became closer and closer, this not going unnoticed by the other three members. There was actually a bet in which each member predicted when they were going to start dating. After a warm August day it happened. She asked him out on a date and he accepted.

Within a month the two members were a full blown couple, and within the year they were married. Thinking back the young woman couldn't remember when she was that happy. She had finally made him hers. By the end of the second year of their marriage, the two lovers had left their former home and moved into a small house in a small town outside the city Boston. It was a far move but they felt that they needed a change of scenery. A month after they left, they got a letter that said their team had went their separate ways. One went to steel city and the other two who were also a couple went to Gotham; leaving their former home to the hands of younger heroes. The original Teen Titans were over.

But their family never broke apart. Every important holiday the team would come back together and share stories with one another. Every time they came back together they all felt like they were back to the old days, when they were a team who fought crime in the hot summer days of southern California. They would laugh and in some cases they would cry (Mainly a certain red head). After two years of doing this, everyone in the family was married. Everyone was happier than they could remember.

But that all changed when the next year came around. When everyone came back for another reunion they noticed that one member was missing. His wife was sitting in the corner looking out the window, as if she was waiting for him to return. When everyone asked where he was, she only said that he was at work. They all knew what that meant. Even though she did not approve of his decision her husband went back to the hero business and joined his old team, the Doom Patrol. He had been going on missions with his former team for nearly two months now and every time he would return with some type of injury, which she would have to heal. She hated seeing him come back in pain and every time he did she began to fear that one day he wouldn't return. So here she was, waiting for her husband to return; hoping that he would return alive and breathing. Everyone tried to comfort her and make her feel more relaxed. But she knew she couldn't, not until he returned. After five more minutes of waiting the doorbell rang. She thought it was odd that someone would be at her door at this hour. When she opened the door, her heart stopped. Standing in front of her was the leader of the Doom Patrol with the rest of his team behind him. Looking around she noticed that her husband was not with them. Looking back at the leader she noticed that he had a look of sorrow. Then next few seconds felt like an eternity.

"Hi, Rachel." Mento said in a solemn voice.

"Steve, what are you doing here? Where is Gar?" She said in a worried tone. Mento let out a sad sigh.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. On our mission we were hunting down the Brotherhood of Evil. Somehow they escaped their imprisonment in Paris. But apparently it was a trap. There was no Brotherhood of Evil; they were just a decoy to get us out of our base. " Mento paused as he let Raven's mind process what she just heard.

"I don't understand. What happened? And why isn't Gar with you?" Raven was beginning to have trouble breathing and she could feel tears coming. She didn't want to know the answer to her question.

"We walked right into the trap, but it wasn't for us. It was only for Gar. The man behind the trap was Gar's deranged uncle Nicholas Galtry. He wanted some sort of revenge on Gar. Somehow, I don't know how he separated Gar from the rest of us. We began to panic, we couldn't find him anywhere in the base Galtry set up. We didn't find him until it was too late." Mento bowed his head down in shame.

Raven fell to her knees as she felt like her world had just caved in above her. Noticing Raven's distress the rest of the team ran to her side and tried to find what was causing her distress. They all saw the Doom Patrol and their faces went pale. Mento continued.

"I'm sorry Rachel. We didn't get to him in time; Galtry already did his worst to your husband. He was shot three times and stabbed six. When we found him he was unconscious and Galtry was gone. I should tell you that he is still alive but is in critical condition. He probably won't survive the night. He is currently in the ICU at Brockton Hospital. You all should probably go see him before it's too late. I am so sorry." By the end of his talking, the team could see a small tear coming down Mento's face. Raven was openly weeping as well as Victor and Kori. Richard tried his hardest but even he couldn't contain his sorrow. Within minutes the entire team piled into a car and drove to the hospital to see their dying brother for the final time.

So here they were all watching their green brother slowly die. The nurse had suggested pulling the plug but Raven refused. Finally sitting down Raven looked up at her husband with tear stained eyes. She began to comb her fingers through his hair and she hummed a sad tune. The other Titans stood by watching the heart breaking scene in front of them. Kori had resumed her crying and Victor was fighting back tears. Richard tried his best to comfort his wife as he fought back his own tears. Raven sat there and let out a sad sigh.

"Gar, please don't leave me. I love you. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Raven begged. She soon broke down and started to cry again.

Victor walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Looking down at his dying best friend he too finally broke down. He fell to his knees and began to ramble.

"It's not fair. You weren't supposed to leave us like this, man. You weren't supposed to leave Rae. Please come back to us." he choked on a sob and then he got angry. "Damn you for going on that mission. You shouldn't have left. We were all retired, you should've known when to quit. But no you had to prove yourself to Mento. You're such an idiot." Feeling a small hand touch his chin he looked up at his little sister Raven. Her eyes were puffy and red, and she was nodding her head.

"Victor's right. You're an idiot for doing this. You were done with the hero business. You shouldn't have left me, you could have been safe. I hate you for doing this to me." Raven said through sobs. The room went silent for a few minutes, before Raven resumed combing her fingers through Garfield's hair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I don't hate you, I never did. I love you, but I feel so lost without you. Please come back to me. Please." Raven saw a small tear roll down her husband's face. Smiling sadly Raven wiped the tear away from his face.

"You can hear everything we're saying can't you?" Raven got up and kissed her husband's lips before she whispered something in his ear. "I love you Gar. Please wait for me." She finally accepted that he was truly going to die. Standing up Raven looked up at her family.

"Guys I think it's time to say goodbye." Fresh tears flowed down her face as she watched her friends solemnly nod their heads.

Every Titan was allowed to say a private goodbye to their little brother. Raven watched every goodbye from the window. Raven watched Kori say goodbye first. The entire time the alien red head was holding his rapidly getting colder hand. When she was done she kissed his forehead and walked to the door. But before she left she said some last final words to him. "Goodbye brother. I shall miss you greatly." Starfire walked through the door with fresh tears. Next was Richard, the entire time Raven watched him act strong and seem to joke with Gar. She figured it was his way to deal with this. But in the end, she saw her leader break down as he hugged his younger brother for the final time. "Gar, I hope you see your parents again. If you see mine, tell them I say hi. Goodbye brother." Richard walked out with a slow walk unlike his natural confident walk. Then Victor came through the door. Raven watched as the big man fell to his knees a second time and actually prayed. She could see fresh tears coming out of his human eye. He then heard him start to laugh; apparently he was remembering the good times with his best buddy. "Remember when we used to have Meat vs. Tofu fights?" Victor laughed. "It was always fun arguing with you. And I remember all the great pranks we pulled together. Oh and stankball, those were the times BB." He stood up and hugged his little brother. "I love you man. I hope you have fun in paradise." Finally walking out he looked at Raven and gave her a sad smile.

Raven walked in and sat down right next to the hospital bed. As she looked at her husband she remembered every waking minute they spent together. She began to cry again as she brushed her hand against his cheek. "I love you Gar. But I have to be honest with you. I didn't plan it to end like this. I pictured us growing old together with children and grandchildren. I pictured you dying at an old age and me following soon after, like the stories. I wish it could have been that way. But life has its unexpected turns and their not all good. This is one of them. I know that you don't have much more time but I must ask you something. When you pass, please watch over us. And promise me you'll wait for me at the gates." She let out a sad laugh. "I can't believe I'm actually saying that I believe in heaven. I never was a religious person, you know that. But I guess when you see a loved one die; you can only wish that they are happy in an eternal world of peace. I guess I finally understand why people want to believe in God. So please wait for me." She got up and kissed her husband's lips for the last time. Once her lips left his she heard the terrifying noise of his heart monitor flat lining. Standing up Raven looked down at her husband. "Goodbye Garfield. I love you with all my heart and I will see you again." Raven began to walk toward the door and the tears began to fall down her cheeks even harder. Beast boy was dead.

The Titans watched the nurses cover their brother's body with a white blanket. Not knowing what to do anymore the Titans started walking out of the hospital toward Raven and Garfield's house. The doctors watched sadly as they saw the family walk out of the building. The family was no longer whole, there was only four.


End file.
